All Hot Meals Gone Domestically

[BoeingBoy]

Starting this week, US Airways says it is temporarily halting the meals on transcontinental flights because it is switching food vendors. Instead, first-class passengers will receive a complimentary meal in a box, known as In-Flight Cafe -- the same meal boxes available for purchase in coach.

US Airways spokeswoman Amy Kudwa said she did not know how long first-class passengers would receive meals in a box, but promised "traditional first-class meals will return."

[post="246844"][/post]​

I got a laugh out of this when the company put it out.....

Let's see, changing vendors but have no idea when the new vendor will start providing the service. Yup, that's the way every corporation does things.

We have a vendor who can put hot meals on European flights, but somehow can't put together a hot meal for F/C transcons. Doesn't make much sense to me.

Jim

 

[usairways_vote_NO]

Good posts PSA and Jim.

They want the Waldorf Astoria service at the Motel 6 rates.

[post="246854"][/post]​

Maybe after another round of employees concessions. Maybe they been thinking since the concession stand was reopened they want service from that concession stand.

 

[N628AU]

Good posts PSA and Jim.

They want the Waldorf Astoria service at the Motel 6 rates.

[post="246854"][/post]​

I realize the public wants often unreasonable things. However, the travelling public provides the money flow that has allowed every US Airways paycheck to clear on time on payday.

I also realize that having F/C takes away one F/A from coach. On shorter flights would it not be possible to do an Express service with the F/C F/A taking drink orders from F/C passengers before departure and then helping with the first few rows of coach? Similarly to where it is not required by law to serve anything, I don't think there is a law where F/C passengers must hold one F/A hostage in front of the partition for their own safety.

 

[usairways_vote_NO]

I realize the public wants often unreasonable things. 

[post="246859"][/post]​

So they deserve the service after demanding lower fares in the mean time they have right to complain about the fares and service when they get what they ask for. Hey we can always go back and open the stand again those employees just make to much.

 

[USAirBoyA330]

Only safety related duties during ground taxi of the aircraft. Several of our flight attendants have gotten in trouble for being in the 1st class isle during ground movement trying to take 1st Class drink orders. The service doesn't start until after 10,000 feet and if there is not enough time to safely provide that service TO EVERYONE then that's just the way the cookie crumbles. I doubt ANYONE is going to spontaneously combust from not have a sip of Sprite on a 30 min flight.

 

[jcooke]

I also realize that having F/C takes away one F/A from coach.  On shorter flights would it not be possible to do an Express service with the F/C F/A taking drink orders from F/C passengers before departure and then helping with the first few rows of coach?  Similarly to where it is not required by law to serve anything, I don't think there is a law where F/C passengers must hold one F/A hostage in front of the partition for their own safety.

[post="246859"][/post]​

I see this happen more often than not, and I applaud them for going the extra mile to help the coach FA's out. Especially on the smaller-cabin 757's and 737's (compared to 320's/321's).

And I haven't seen one complaint from a FC passenger being put to any type of unreasonable (if any) delay for service.

-JC

 

[PSA1979]

I realize the public wants often unreasonable things. However, the travelling public provides the money flow that has allowed every US Airways paycheck to clear on time on payday.

I also realize that having F/C takes away one F/A from coach. On shorter flights would it not be possible to do an Express service with the F/C F/A taking drink orders from F/C passengers before departure and then helping with the first few rows of coach? Similarly to where it is not required by law to serve anything, I don't think there is a law where F/C passengers must hold one F/A hostage in front of the partition for their own safety.

[post="246859"][/post]​

I believe U serves drinks in coach on flights that are safe to do so. On flights that are too short, they do not. To be consistant on all flights no matter what a/c type serves a particular destination. For example if an A321 is put on a route that a 757 used to fly, they both would be no serves in coach. On the 757 there are only 8 f/c seats and realistically a f/c f/a could come back and help after serving only 8 people. Of course seeing as there are 185 pax in coach it probably wouldn't be completed, but it could be feasible. However, with 26 pax in f/c on the A321, there is no way the service could be completed in f/c, then go help in coach. Too many people, not enough time. And be honest, who wants a drink for 2 seconds before it is yanked from your hands at 10,000 feet.

Speaking of 10,000 feet, how are we supposed to serve a flight that stays below that, if we aren't allowed off our jump seats. And we do have a few of those, enough to have an announcement in our announcement booklets.

So, our service is just fine thank you very much. Except of course for the transcon cold food from Buy on Board. That is a joke and an emarrassement to all. I don't know any f/a's that think that is a good idea. I'd rather have our glassware back and the fancy food, sundae cart, champagne and good wine. But, we don't set the service, we only appologize for the lack there of!

 

[mweiss]

And SWA also has no first class service.

Though one must begin to question the value of something called "First Class" when it has a lower level of service than the competition's "Coach."

When you add F/C you take away a flight attendant for coach. We used to serve all flights, except 10 minute ones, because we had 4 f/a's on a 737 all working in coach.

All very true. You have had resources taken away, which makes it much more difficult to do the job. To the customer, that's not the point. The customer has a choice between sitting in that seat with a drink on WN, or without a drink on US. For a segment of the population (since I'm not in market research, I couldn't tell you how big it is), this is enough to drive the business elsewhere.

My life and well being is more important than your tiny glass of coke. Bring your own bottle and quit b*tching about not being waited on hand and foot. This is the transportation business, we get you from point A to point B. Nothing else is guaranteed.

[post="246851"][/post]​

Which would be fine if your competitors all had the same attitude. They don't. You may be a certified trained professional, and you may be on board primarily for the passengers' safety, but games are won in the margins. It's in the margins that you are losing.

 

[BoeingBoy]

"Speaking of 10,000 feet, how are we supposed to serve a flight that stays below that, if we aren't allowed off our jump seats. And we do have a few of those, enough to have an announcement in our announcement booklets."

CLT-GSO (9,000 ft) and PHL-BWI (8,000 ft) are two that come to mind.

Something else JS said:

"You would think that the king of cheapness would never serve a beverage on a flight short enough where people don't "need" a beverage. In fact it is the exact opposite."

Well, I checked - CLT-RDU is 128 miles. Just how many legs does SW fly that are less than 130 miles and where they serve (despite having 3 F/A's for 137 or so passengers instead of 2 coach F/A's for up to 132 passengers)

Jim

 

[JS]

Good posts PSA and Jim.

They want the Waldorf Astoria service at the Motel 6 rates.

[post="246854"][/post]​

Motel 6 service at Motel 6 rates would be acceptable. What you people provide is interstate highway rest area service at Motel 6 rates.

 

[BoeingBoy]

"The customer has a choice between sitting in that seat with a drink on WN, or without a drink on US."

OK, Michael, I'll make this a question for you too...

Just how many legs does SW fly that are less than 130 miles and where they serve (despite having 3 F/A's for 137 or so passengers instead of 2 coach F/A's for up to 132 passengers)

Jim

 

[700UW]

Well first of all it is not YOU PEOPLE, US Airways' management sets the policies and standards of how the in-flight service will be, the Flight Attendants just carryout those policies, they don't set them.

And that is what the consumer has driven the industry too, not the workers, US' workers have ponied up over $2.4 billion for the past two years with an additional $1 billion, so now every year US will save $2.3 Billion just from its employees.

If you don't like the Wal-Marting of America I suggest you do something about it.

 

[mweiss]

Well, I checked - CLT-RDU is 128 miles. Just how many legs does SW fly that are less than 130 miles and where they serve (despite having 3 F/A's for 137 or so passengers instead of 2 coach F/A's for up to 132 passengers)

[post="246884"][/post]​

HOU-AUS is 150 miles. When you take into account departure and arrival patterns, the difference of 22 miles is not significant.

At the time that I was living in Houston, I wasn't surprised that CO was limiting service to three beverage choices on the IAH-AUS route. To my utter astonishment, I found that WN served their full complement of beverages on this route (HOU-AUS).

PBI-TPA and BWI-ORF are pretty close as well. Can't say if they provide full beverage service on those two, but if they do on HOU-AUS, I can't imagine why they wouldn't on the other two.

 

[BoeingBoy]

I agree that there is definitely such a thing as being penny wise pound foolish.

And the DAL thing was at a time when most legacy carriers served a lot more "regular" meals than they do now.

Jim

 

[JS]

Well first of all it is not YOU PEOPLE, US Airways' management sets the policies and standards of how the in-flight service will be, the Flight Attendants just carryout those policies, they don't set them.

And that is what the consumer has driven the industry too, not the workers, US' workers have ponied up over $2.4 billion for the past two years with an additional $1 billion, so now every year US will save $2.3 Billion just from its employees.

If you don't like the Wal-Marting of America I suggest you do something about it.

[post="246893"][/post]​

I realize that; I am referring to both management and employees.

What do the concessions have to do with in-flight service? The flight attendants make exactly the same amount of money whether or not they do a beverage service.